Attachment for bowling-alley return-troughs



w. CH O'INSKI. ATTACHMENT FOR BOWLING ALLEY RETURN TROUGHS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 28, 1920.

1,388,239. Patented Aug- 1921.

2 SHEETS T l.

gnaw/$0M WaH'er Chumak:

.W. CHOINS KI. ATTACHMENT FOR BOWLINGALLEY RETURN TROUGHS. APPLICATION FlLED OCT. 28, 1920.

1,388,239. ted Aug. 23, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

pwaw fu Walter Ehumsk;

i /fj zjzy PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER: CHOINSKI, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

ATTACHMENT FOR BOWLING-ALLEY RETURN-TROUGHS.

Specification of Letters ram; Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

Application filed October 28, 1920. Serial No. 420,136.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER CHoINsnI, a citizen of the UnitedQSta-tes, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for 'Bowling -'Alley Return- Troughs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention refers to attachments for bowling alley return troughs and has primarily for its object the provision of means for trapping and preventing balls returned in the trough from leaving the rack end of the same. v s

A further object is to provide a device of this character adapted to permit the balls to freely pass in one direction. p I

A more specific obj ectof the invention is to provide yieldable means for connecting a device of this character tothe trough whereby the balls that have been trapped or stopped will again be returned to the rack end.

A still further object lies in the provision of a device of this kind adapted to clean the surface of the balls, as they pass therethrough.

My invention includes, with these objects in view, an apron positioned over the trough and having one of its ends secured above the same and the opposite end resting upon and fastened to the trough. While I have shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred form of my invention, various changes in structure of detail are contemplated and considered to be within the scope of the appended claims.

It will be further understood that while I have shown my invention attached to that form of return trough, where the balls are returned to the storage rack by means of a loop, it is obvious that the invention is attachable to other types of racks, such as those that are provided with a slight incline for connecting the rack with the trough.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the rack end of a return trough with the invention attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view to that shown in Fig. 1,-with parts broken away and in sec:

tion to more clearly illustrate the invention andshowing a ball in its trapped position. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4:4 of Fig. 1. i

In practice it has been found that often balls returned in the trough do not have sufficient velocity to ascend the incline that delivers them to the storage rack, and will therefore roll back considerable distance from this end of the trough. This causes considerable inconvenience as it is then necessary to stop the game until a person can go down and recover the ball. In order to overcome this difliculty, the present invention is designed in which an apron designated by the numeral 1, and preferabl made of canvas, leather or similar flexib e material, is positioned over a return trough 2 and has one of its ends resting upon the trough and secured thereto by means of the straps 3 and: yieldable connections in the form of springs 4, which are attached to the outside of the trough so as not to interfere with the passage of the balls. The opposite end of the apron is secured to 8. yo re 5, pivoted to the sides of a storage rack 6, which is supported above and in alinement with the return trough.

The arms of the yoke 5 are provided with stops or abutments 5', that engage the under surface of the storage rack and limit the upward movement of the yoke, which is normally held against the storage rack by means of a spring 7 connected to the stop or abutment 8 of the storage rack.

The operation of the device may be described as follows:

When the ball Q indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 is returned in the trough in the direction indicated by the arrow, the apron 1 whichis not taut, but provided with a sufficient amount of slack, will ride up over the ball .as indicated in dotted lines. Should the ball then not have sufiicient momentum, to ascend the loop 10 that delivers it to the storage rack, the same will roll the same will engage its surface and remove any dirt or dust which might accumulate thereon.

Another advantage of the device resides in the fact that no metal will come in contact with the ball, thereby eliminating any danger of scratching its surface.

I claim: 7

1. In combination with a bowling alley return trough, means adapted to form a trap for" the balls traveling in one direction and to permit their passage in the opposite direction, said means comprising an apron having one end secured above the F trough and the opposite end secured to the trough. V

2. In combination with a bowling alley return trough, means adapted to form a I trap for the balls traveling in one direction and to permit their passage in the opposite direction, said means comprising a yieldable apron having one end secured above the trough and the opposite end secured to thetrough. g V

3. In combination with a bowling alley return trough, means adapted to form a trap for the balls traveling in one direction andto permit their passage in the opposite direction, said means comprising an apron having one end yieldably secured above the trough,'and the opposite end resting upon and yieldably secured to the trough.- I 7 4. In combination with a bowling alley return trough, means 'adapted to, .form a trap for the balls traveling in one direction and to permit their passagein the 0pposite direction, said means comprising an apron, a pivoted yoke forcsupporting, the

apron at its upper end, yieldable means for holding said yoke in its raised position and yieldable means for connecting the lower end of said apron to the'troug h.

5.111 combination .with a bowling ,alley return trough and a storage-rackpositioned above the trough, a'yoke pivotally'mounted onsaid storage rack, a yieldable support for said yoke, a flexible apron secured to said yoke and depending therefrom, straps extending from the lower end of said apron and adapted to straddle the trough, and

the trough.

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin. 7

. WALTER CHQIN SKI.

yieldable means connecting said straps to 

